[Rhabdomyolysis in community-acquired pneumonia]

Several cases of rhabdomyolysis associated with pneumococcal pneumonia have been recently reported. However their significance have been poorly investigated. In this retrospective study, we have compared the patients admitted in ICU for acute community-acquired pneumonia with or without rhabdomyolysis (group A: CPK > or = 1,000 Ul/l and group B: CPK < 1,000 Ul/l). Among the 41 patients of the study, 12 (29%) belonged to the group A (CPK = 1,852 +/- 535 Ul/l) and 29 (71%) to group B (CPK = 190 +/- 35 Ul/l). Neither the initial severity, nor renal impairment were different in the two groups. However the mortality was significantly higher in the group A (4/12) than in group B (2/29) (P < 0.05). In this study, pneumonia is frequently associated with rhabdomyolysis, without etiologic significance. In patients with pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis seems to be a bad prognostic indice unrelated with renal impairment.